January 7, 2015
LANSING –- All Michigan high school juniors will begin
taking the SAT as the state-administered college assessment exam beginning in
2016 after the College Board won the three-year competitively-bid contract, the
Michigan Department of Education and Department of Technology, Management
and Budget jointly announced today.
The College Board administers the SAT, a
globally-recognized college admission test that lets students show colleges
what they know and how well they can apply that knowledge. It tests students’
knowledge of reading, writing and math — subjects that are taught every day in
high school classrooms in Michigan.
ACT, Inc. will continue to provide its WorkKeys
assessment for all high school students. Both the college entrance assessment
and work skills tests are required in state law to be provided free to all high
school students, and each is periodically competitively bid through the state’s
structured procurement process, as directed by the Department of Technology,
Management and Budget (DTMB).
“The College Board’s SAT test is respected and used
around the country,” said State Superintendent Mike Flanagan, “and Michigan
high schools work with them now through their Advanced Placement program that
helps students earn college credits while in high school.
“Their bid was rated the highest; provides valuable
assistance to Michigan educators, students, and parents; is more aligned to
Michigan’s content standards; and saves the state millions of dollars over the
course of the three-year contract,” Flanagan said.
The College Board’s bid was $15.4 million less over the
three-year contract than the next bidder and scored 10 percentage points higher
by the Joint Evaluation Committee (JEC). In addition to staff from MDE and
DTMB, the evaluation committee also included members representing the education
community, including a high school principal; local school superintendent; a
testing and assessment consultant from an intermediate school district; and a
vice president from a Michigan community college.
Bill Barnes, principal at Charlotte High School and
member of the JEC said: “The attention to detail with which the College Board
created its proposal and the extensive resources that it will provide to
schools and students to help them prepare for the test, make its college
readiness assessment the best choice for Michigan.”
Another member of the Joint Evaluation Committee, Jim
Gullen, a data and evaluation consultant for the Macomb Intermediate School
District, said: “After two days of review and discussion, there was no question
that College Board put forth the best proposal. Considering the quality of
College Board’s proposal, the value presented in the pricing, and our current
legislation, it is a good time to transition to the SAT to assess Michigan’s high
school students’ mastery of the Michigan curriculum.”
Each year, the College Board helps more than seven
million students prepare for a successful transition to college through
programs and services in college readiness and college success — including the
SAT and the Advanced Placement program. The organization also serves the
education community through research and advocacy on behalf of students,
educators and schools.
The Michigan Department of
Education (MDE) is forming a team that will include the local, regional, and
community college members of the Joint Evaluation Committee to assist in the
transition to the SAT. In addition, the department will hold an onsite meeting
with the College Board to discuss how it intends to positively affect the transition
for Michigan schools, educators, parents, and students.
In its successful bid, the College
Board included the following value-added components that will benefit Michigan
schools and families:
- Beginning in Spring 2015, the College Board will
provide all schools and students with free test prep materials and online
practice tests to help students prepare for the redesigned SAT in 2016.
- Professional Development
- In-person and
technology-based training for local test administrators, proctors, and
technology coordinators
- Professional
development for teachers, students, and parents in understanding the new
SAT and analyzing test results
- Professional
development for post-secondary enrollment professionals in using the
data/resources for admissions and financial aid decisions
- An updated and relevant assessment
- Redesigned SAT
beginning in 2016
- Aligned to Michigan
content standards, evidence-based design
- Additional item types
beyond multiple choice
- New forms developed
each year
- Reports available
online
-
Simplification
and reduction of school staff effort to request testing accommodations
- No need to reapply for
testing accommodations if already approved for the Advanced Placement
Program, or the PSAT testing for National Merit Scholarship Qualification
Test
The college entrance exam and work
skills assessment are given free to approximately 115,000 Michigan high school
students each year.
ACT WorkKeys is a job skills assessment system that helps
employers select, hire, train, develop, and retain a high-performance
workforce. This series of tests measures foundational and soft skills and
offers specialized assessments to target institutional needs.
As part of ACT's Work Readiness System, ACT WorkKeys has
helped millions of people in high schools, colleges, professional associations,
businesses, and government agencies build their skills to increase global
competitiveness and develop successful career pathways.
Successful completion of ACT WorkKeys assessments in
Applied Mathematics, Locating Information, and Reading for Information can lead
to earning ACT's National Career Readiness Certificate (ACT NCRC), a portable
credential earned by more than 2.3 million people across the United States.
Michigan high school students have taken the WorkKeys
assessment since 2007. Over 413,000 Michigan students have received an
NCRC credential.
Although the contracts await final completion and
approval of the State Administrative Board, the three-year contract for the
college entrance assessment will cost approximately $17.1 million, and the
three-year work skills assessment will cost approximately $12.2 million.
